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There are some common misconceptions when you are buying Portland real estate. Two that come to mind are that you can either do a better job yourself in sourcing a home for sale, or that you are going to get a better deal if you approach the listing agent directly. Lets be clear about the first line, these are misconceptions.

Let’s imagine Portland home buyers trying to find a home on their own. For this post we'll call them Mr. & Mrs. Buyerson.

Mr. and Mrs. Buyerson start their search online looking at every imaginable site out there. I can already see the stress mounting.

They cannot find the phone number of the listing agent and when he does trying to get a callback can be challenging. Imagine trying to get 10 different listing agents to show him their properties and lining up appointments……

They might also call only to find that the property is no longer on the market. Many of these online sites are not up-t0-date. They may have wasted time and got their hopes up by looking at properties that are not available.

Now, Mr. and Mrs. Buyerson may be sophisticated enough to recognize a property listed as a short sale and understand the some of the ramifications of buying one of these properties, but many other Portland home buyers don’t.

They may approach the listing agent on purpose thinking that he is going to get a deal by going directly because the listing agent does not have to split his commission. Let me take a second to point out who is paying that commission. Mr. Sellersby is paying the listing agent to sell his home at the highest price. Mr. Sellersby is paying the realtor who is listing his home whether that listing agent brings in the buyer or the listing agent pays a buyers agent to bring in a buyer. In who's best interest is it for Mr. and Mrs. Buyerson to go directly to the realtor listing the home?

There are way too many things that can go wrong when Portland real estate buyers try to buy a home by themselves. I will point these out by showing what can go right if Portland real estate buyers use a Portland buyer’s agent.

Mr. and Mrs. Buyerson sit down with a Portland buyers agent and together they discuss the criteria for the search. One of the first thing that the Portland buyers agent will ask is that the buyers talk with a lender and get a pre-approval. Without this nothing can be accomplished. The buyers agent will know the limits of the search and they buyers will not be disappointed by having set their heart on homes they can't afford.

Their buyers agent will build a search that will update at least daily and send out new listings to him which will not include homes that have been sold. And trust that most everything that is on the market will be on the MLS so the buyers don’t have to worry that they are missing something, although I am sure they are still going to peek.

The home buyers make themselves available to visit the homes at appointment times that the West Linn buyers agent has set up for them.

If any of the homes are a short sale, their buyers agent can find out the background. How many liens are on the property; what kind of experience the listing agent has with short sales; has the process been started; all important things to know in order to decide whether making an offer on the property is viable.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, their West Linn buyers agent is going to be representing Mr. & Mrs. Buyerson alone. When a listing agent is representing both sides of the transaction impartiality is a problem. Remember who is paying the commission – the seller. Put yourself in the position of someone trying to negotiate both sides of the deal while not divulging to one party what they know about the other one.

Last but not least, hiring your own Portland buyers agent is going to cost you nothing. Searching for you next Portland real estate purchase with you own Portland buyer’s agent is the best money you will never spend.

Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West LinnReal Estate.

We have heard it all before, most sellers expect “top dollar” for their homes and most buyers want to pay “rock bottom” prices. However, there are buyers who will pay more for your home and they will not give it a second thought. How do you attract them?

My initial question for sellers would be -- whatdoes top dollar mean to you? Does that mean you want to receive the same selling price as the last highest and most comparable sale in your area? Does that mean that you expect more than that sale? Or, does that mean you simply want the most that you can possibly get for your home?

Attracting a these types of buyers means having a “top dollar” home. Here comes question number two, do you have a “top dollar” Portland home for sale? Has it been maintained like one? Have you invested in the home like it is one? Put yourself into the mindset of someone who is willing and able to pay top dollar. What would they want out of a home? In my years of working with buyers I would have to say that all buyers want perfection. The difference is top dollar Portland buyers are willing to pay for that perfection. They want to walk into a home and not have to do anything...at all. Not even the tiniest little thing. And, if you’ve prepared or staged your home well, they might even ask you to leave the furniture too. Anything beyond replacing a light switch cover is not what they are bargaining for when they are paying “top dollar.” In fact, a true top dollar home may even convert a rock bottom priced home searcher into a buyer, because they view that particular home as “worth it.”

It may take a cash offer for you to get top dollar if there aren’t enough comps to justify your price. Or, in the alternative to an all cash buyer, it may take a buyer willing (and able) to pay over the appraised value for your home. Is the home the type of investment someone would want to sink a great deal of cash into?

Are all the major systems of your home up to date and in good working order? At a minimum this includes the electrical, plumbing, heating/cooling, and roof. Has the home kept up with the times and been updated within the past 8-10 years? Is the paint fresh, updated, and are the colors in keeping with modern tastes? What is the condition of the kitchen and bathrooms? Are the appliances 10 or more years old? Is the flooring stained, worn, or damaged? Is the landscaping full, appealing, and well established? Does the home have curb appeal? And importantly, how does your home stack up against the current competition in your market?

It is hard to take a step back and view your Portland home for what it has to offer in the market. The bottom line is if you want attract a top dollar buyer, you better have a top dollar Portland home for sale.

Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West LinnReal Estate.

Can you believe there's a home for sale in Lake Oswego for only $175,000? For reference, the Lake Oswego median home value for August 2011 was almost $550k! This short sale home features almost 1,300sf with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a family room, as well as a living/dining room. It even has hardwood floors! It is fenced and also has a shop out in the back yard. This house is within the Lake Oswego School District, one of the most desirable in the Greater Portland area.

This is the most affordable home for sale in Lake Oswego right now!

Click the thumbnails to see larger pictures.

If you would like more information on Lake Oswego real estate deals, please don't hesitate to contact me.

In this buyers market, it is tougher than ever to sell a house. Some owners who have Portland homes for sale are turning to renting when their home is not selling. Can doing so actually lose you money?

Renting may seem like an easy fix but, it may not be a long-term solution. Some will find out the hard way that not everybody is cut out to be a landlord.

The top reason why Portland home owners turn to renting vs selling is that they need to sell but they will not "give it away". Owners are in a tight situation and need to sell and sell quickly, but the market is not letting them get what they "want" for the house. They are either getting low ball offers or no offers at all. They cannot drop the price any lower. They feel they cannot sit around waiting for a decent offer.

These homeowners might think that becoming landlords will be a good solution. Homeowners want to rent for just a couple years while waiting for the market to recover . Then, they’ll be able to sell their house for more than they can today. While this plan seems like a good one, will renting really solve their problems? Maybe yes. And maybe no.

Lets look at some of the factors to help you before deciding whether renting will solve some of your problems … or if it will create more. While you may have excellent reasons for renting your house, consider the following ten potential problems before giving up on selling your house.

Property management – Managing receipts, maintenance, repairs, emergencies, and other requirements associated with renting requires time, money, and effort. You can choose to do it yourself or you can pay a property manager to do it for you.

Market recovery or market bust –nobody really knows how long it could take for Portland real estate prices to recover. Once the market is back on the way up, it could take years for prices to rise above what the market conditions are now.

Depreciation – Since tenants are unlikely to treat your home as well as you would, physical depreciation is a very real aspect of turning your home over to tenants.

Capital gains tax – Be sure to consult your tax accountant.

Re-lease or try to sell again – You’ll probably find tenants quickly with the way the rental market is right now. But once the first year’s lease is over, you’ll have to decide whether to continue renting your house or try selling. Either way, you’ll have to invest in cleaning, painting, landscaping, replacing carpet, upgrading appliances, and making repairs before the next tenants or buyers move in.

Damaged goods – When you’re ready to sell, your house may be considered ‘damaged goods’. Homebuyers can immediately tell if a house has been lovingly cared for or simply lived in. And they will take this into consideration when making offers.

Selling with tenants in place – Most tenants don’t care if you sell your house or not. Some may not want to move. They only know it disrupts their schedule. They won’t keep the house as neat and clean as you would. They won’t be as flexible to accommodate showing appointments as you would. And they may hang around the house during showings, making homebuyers uncomfortable and eager to leave.

Rental merry-go-round – After renting your house for what was supposed to be no more than a year or two ... just until the market turned around ... could turn into a long-term commitment. You may get stuck on the rental merry-go-round, unable to jump off. The window between leases will leave you with only a short time to list and sell your house. Before you know it, you’ll be back on the rental merry-go-round, still waiting for the opportunity to unload a monumental burden.

Rental prices may go down – Right now rental prices are what they are, and they may be just fine for your needs. But renting your house as a short-term solution may not be a long-term solution. With so many homeowners turning to renting as an expedient to selling, tenants will have more homes to pick from. In time, instead of facing a ‘Buyer’s Market’ on the selling end, you may very well face a ‘Renter’s Market’ on the rental end. Such a circumstance would drive rents down year to year. After factoring in rising insurance rates and property taxes, you may eventually find yourself in a negative cash-flow position.

Mortgage rates – Mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve been in recent history. But they can’t stay low forever. When the economy recovers, the Federal Reserve will start raising key interest rates. Mortgage rates will climb in lockstep, making homeownership more expensive. To make up for higher monthly costs, buyers will bargain that much harder, forcing prices down once again.

Really there are 11 reasons but who's counting.

If you have a pressing need to move out and move on, and don't want to be weighed down with renting your house, there is a way to sell quickly. Its listening to the Portland real estate market and price your house accordingly.

Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West LinnReal Estate.

The average sale price of Portland real estate for August 2011 fell 1.2% from the prior month of July 2011. The $3300 decrease in average sale price ($275,100 to $271,800) is the first decline in two months. The median sale price decreased from $227,200 to $225,000 (-1%). When comparing August 2011 to the same month the prior year (August 2010), the average sales price were down 9.2%.

Please note that as a result of the effort by RMLS to standardize the reporting of Short Sales, some areas may show unusual decreases in active listings and increases in pending sales

Portland real estate activity bounced back and increased the number of closings and pendings from the prior month. Closed sales increased from 1,709 to 1,805 (5.6%) while pending sales also went up from 1,928 to 2,187 (13.4%). For the second month in a row listings went down, this time from 2,942 to 2,879 (-2.1%)..

When comparing August of 2011 to August of 2010, closed & pending sales grew quite a bit. A percentage shift of 30.7% for closings and 29.6% for pendings. Meanwhile, new Portland real estate listings dropped by 24% over last July.

At July 2011's rate of sales, the 11,276 active residential listings would last about 6.2 months, just a little less than last month..

Sales activity was down when comparing January-August 2010 with the same period this year. Closed sales decreased a hair by only 0.5% (down just 71 sales), Pending sales increased by 2.8% (down 397 units), and new listings fell another 26% (down over8800 listings).

Below are two charts with more numbers from last months Portland real estate market update. The first shows how each of the designated RMLS areas stacked up against each other. They are listed from highest average sales price to lowest.

Portland Metro Area Real Estate Market Data by RMLS Area

Area

YTD Avg. Sale Price

YTD Median Sale Price

12-Mo. Change

Total Mkt Time*

Lake Oswego / West Linn

$423,500

$371,800

-9.1%

149

West Portland & Downtown

$389,900

$329,900

-1.3%

161

NW Washington County

$362,000

$320,000

-0.7%

112

Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville

$278,700

$258,900

-6.0%

146

Northeast Portland

$268,400

$225,000

-3.7%

109

Milwaukie / Clackamas

$237,800

$219,800

-10.1%

97

Oregon City / Canby

$229,300

$208,500

-9.6%

82

North Portland

$217,300

$205,000

-6.0%

98

Southeast Portland

$211,400

$178,800

-6.6%

102

Beaverton / Aloha

$208,000

$190,000

-11.2%

135

Hillsboro / Forest Grove

$204,200

$190,000

-10.8%

136

Gresham / Troutdale

$194,700

$175,000

-7.4%

170

Yamhill County

$193,900

$172,300

-6.7%

188

Columbia County

$160,900

$145,000

-12.7

142

Portland Real Estate Market Data for July 2011

July 2011

Prev. Month - June 2011

Last Year - July 2010

Median Sale Price

$227,200

$222,900

$246,000

Average Sale Price

$275,100

$267,100

$297,000

Closed Sales

1,709

1,958

1,412

Pending Sales

1,928

2,011

1,629

New Listings

2,942

3,143

4,029

Active Listings

11,970

11,817

15,271

Distress Sales

28%

34%

31%

Total Market Time *

132 days

134 days

121 days

Inventory (in months)

7.0

6.0

10.8

[/

Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West LinnReal Estate.

An Updated Report on Portland Real Estate for Single Family Detached Homes for Sale from the week of August 15, 2011

The median list price in Portland, OR this last week is holding at$287,200. The asking price stays put at $146 per square foot. 48% of listings had a price decrease. The average DOM (Days On Market) was down to 151 days with 11% of listings reset their DOM by re-listing.

Median home specs are as follows; 2144 sq foot home with 3 beds, 2 baths on just under 6500 sq ft lot. 207 new single family detached homes for sale in the Portland real estate market this week with 197 homes being absorbed. This brings the active listings to a total of 3287.

The most expensive 25% of listings have a median home price of $599,900. The median specs for these homes are 34 years old with 3382 sq ft, 4 bedroom and 3 baths on just under 10000 sq ft lot. There are 34 new listings with only 32 being absorbed in this range of Portland real estate bringing the total at 822. The Portland homes for sale in this range have an average days on market(DOM) of 153 days.

While the lease expensive 25% of listings have a median price of $149,800 and have an average DOM of 171. This range of Portland homes for sale are on average of 57 years old on just under 6500 sq ft lot, 1222 sq foot homes with 3 beds and 1 bath. 74 new listings came up with 50 being absorbed bringing the total to 823 in this range.

Looking at the average sale price of Portland real estate for July 2011, you see an upswing of 3% from the prior month of June 2011. The $9000 increase in average sale price ($267,100 to $275,100) is the second month in a row prices went up. The median sale price increased from $222,900 to $227,200 (1.9%). When comparing July 2011 to the same month the prior year (July 2010), the average sales price were down 7.4%.

The number of closings of Portland real estate could not continue its increase for a second month. Closed sales decreased from from 1,958 to 1,709 (-12.7%) while Pending sales decreased from 2,001 to 1,928 (-3.7%). The good news for sellers is that listings went down again from 3,143 to 2,942 (-6.4%).

When looking at July of 2011 to July of 2010, closed & pending sales grew, 21% and 18.4% respectively. New Portland real estate listings dropped by 27% over last July.

This months home inventory is down 3.8 months from July 2010. At July 2011's rate of sales, the 11,970 active residential listings would last about 7 months.

When looking at January-July 2010 with the same period this year, home sales activity was down. Closed sales went down by 4.3% (down 500 sales), Pending sales decreased by 1.4% (down 183 units), and new listings fell 26% (down over 7600 listings). The average sale price fell 5% and the median sale price dropped 5.4%.

Below are two charts with more numbers from last months Portland real estate market update. The first shows how each of the designated RMLS areas stacked up against each other. They are listed from highest average sales price to lowest.

Portland Real Estate Market Data for June 2011

June 2011

Last Month - May 2011

Last Year - June 2010

Median Sale Price

$222,900

$220,000

$239,900

Average Sale Price

$267,100

$262,400

$275,500

Closed Sales

1,958

1,742

2,050

Pending Sales

2,011

2,167

1,493

New Listings

3,143

3,348

3,482

Active Listings

11,817

11,825

14,372

Distress Sales

34%

38%

28%

Total Market Time *

134 days

145 days

123 days

Inventory (in months)

6.0

6.8

7.0

Portland Metro Area Real Estate Market Data by RMLS Area

Area

YTD Avg. Sale Price

YTD Median Sale Price

12-Mo. Change

Total Mkt Time*

Lake Oswego / West Linn

$411,700

$361,000

-10.1%

193

West Portland & Downtown

$389,500

$329,900

-0.7%

159

NW Washington County

$343,200

$315,000

-3.1%

89

Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville

$279,400

$259,900

-5.1%

130

Northeast Portland

$268,500

$223,500

-2.4%

116

Milwaukie / Clackamas

$237,700

$220,700

-9.9%

127

Oregon City / Canby

$223,300

$205,000

-10.2%

183

North Portland

$210,800

$199,700

-7.3%

123

Southeast Portland

$209,200

$176,300

-6.4%

107

Beaverton / Aloha

$206,100

$190,000

-8.8%

106

Hillsboro / Forest Grove

$202,600

$186,900

-10.7%

124

Gresham / Troutdale

$194,100

$174,900

-7.7%

135

Yamhill County

$192,300

$170,000

-5.7%

206

Columbia County

$161,700

$145,000

-11.4%

161

Rich Peralta is a real estate professional in the Portland Metro Area, including Lake Oswego, Tualatin and West LinnReal Estate.

An Updated Report for Portland Real Estate for Single Family Detached Homes for Sale from the week of July 11, 2011

The median list price in Portland, OR this last week is holding at$285,000. The asking price stays put at $147 per square foot. 48% of listings had a price decrease. The average DOM (Days On Market) was down to 155 days with 11% of listings reset their DOM by re-listing.

Median home specs are as follows; 2147 sq foot home with 3 beds, 2 baths on just under 6500 sq ft lot. 175 new single family detached homes for sale in the Portland real estate market this week with 221 homes being absorbed. This brings the active listings to a total of 3271.

The most expensive 25% of listings have a median home price of $617,000. The median specs for these homes are 34 years old with 3415 sq ft, 4 bedroom and 3 baths on just under 10000 sq ft lot. There are 49 new listings with only 39 being absorbed in this range of Portland real estate bringing the total at 817. The Portland homes for sale in this range have an average days on market(DOM) of 151 days.

While the lease expensive 25% of listings have a median price of $149,900 and have an average DOM of 175. This range of Portland homes for sale are on average of 57years old on just under 6500 sq ft lot, 1248 sq foot homes with 3 beds and 1 bath. 25 new listings came up with 67 being absorbed bringing the total to 818 in this range.